Minnesota Vikings: Patterson comes up with new ways to amaze

Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson finds a hole between Ravens defenders John Simon, left and Pernell McPhee during the second quarter Sunday in Baltimore. Patterson finished with five catches for a career-high 141 yards, including a 79-yard dash that gave the Vikings a four-point lead with 45 seconds remaining in the game. (Special to the Pioneer Press: Alex Polydoroff)

BALTIMORE -- Cordarrelle Patterson continues to amaze with the variety of ways he can tilt the football field.

The rookie wide receiver already holds the NFL record with a 109-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, with scores on special teams, as a receiver and running back. Sunday he added a dazzling cut-back move, converting a simple screen pass into a 79-yard dash that gave the Vikings a four-point lead with 45 seconds remaining.

It would have been the winning touchdown but the Ravens answered with an 80-yard scoring drive to finalize a wild 29-26 victory that left Patterson with a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

"They have a good offense so you can never say that a touchdown is going to be enough," said Patterson, who finished with five catches for a career-high 141 yards. "You saw how Toby (Gerhart) scored and they came back with a kickoff return. So you can never say, 'That's it.' You have to prepare for everything."

On third-and-10 with 1:01 remaining, Patterson lined up in slot, caught Matt Cassel's flip 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage and immediately went to work, blowing through traffic before turning safety Matt Elam into a pretzel in the open field.

"The way my offensive line blocked and (fullback) Jerome (Felton) kicked his man out ... it was perfect," Patterson said. "There was no way that I should have scored. I made a cut and (Matt) Elam slipped and it was a touchdown."